Curvy Delights: Billionaire Romance BBW Boxset

by Tara Brent

  As we ride, we talk about her friend Rosie. Apparently, she's going on a date as well, and Amber is excited because it's been a long time since Rosie has been out with someone. From the way she talks about the other woman, I can tell that Amber truly cares about her. She has this selfless way about her where she's constantly helping others, especially her friends. Back when Rhett and I were idiots, she'd help us with homework in exchange for us hanging out with her. Maybe it was a little shitty of us, but we were dumb kids. Plus, it always seemed to make her happy, spending time with us.

  Finally, we arrive at the sushi restaurant. I climb out of the car and circle around the back to get her door. When she steps out, her eyes light up.

  “How did you know I’ve been meaning to come here?” she asks incredulously.

  “Grandma may have mentioned it once or twice,” I wink. It’s quite exclusive, and though it isn’t Amber’s favorite sushi restaurant—which Grandma also told me about—I figured this was a good time to try it out with her.

  “Remind me to thank Grace for always looking out for me,” she giggles. I take her arm in mine and walk up to the front door, holding it open when we’re close enough. To the hostess, I give my name. A moment later, she leads us through the busy restaurant to the reserved booth in the back of the room. The lighting is low here, with candles flickering and the soft sound of music playing above us. I spared no expense tonight. I want everything to be perfect, to show her I’m not half-assing this apology.

  When the waiter comes by, I let Amber order everything she wants. I’m glad she doesn’t hold back or try to be modest like a lot of the other women I’ve dated have done. She says exactly what she wants, and when the waiter walks away, she’s practically buzzing.

  “I’ve always wanted to try the spider roll from here. I’ve heard stories about how good it is.”

  “If that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll have,” I shrug.

  The conversation goes pretty well for a while. She tells me about work and how busy it's been lately, and when she goes into depth about some of the flower combinations she's worked with, I try my hardest to keep up. I'm way out of my element with this, but I'm just happy to listen to her. I've missed her excited rants for the past five years, so I soak this one up like a sponge.

  As we share a large plate of fried rice, Amber looks up at me without saying a word. Her expression is unreadable, but I don't think it's a positive one. She seems pensive like she's deep in her own head about something.

  “What are you thinking about?” I ask.

  “Everything. Us.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean... us. Like, how much I’ve missed having you around, just to talk to. I don’t have many friends nowadays since we all grew up and started lives of our own, and having you back just makes me really happy. I think it’s what Rhett would’ve wanted.”

  “I think so too.” Rhett always told me that if anything ever happened to him, I was supposed to be there for Amber whenever she needed me. I didn’t recall this until after I left town, which only made the guilty feeling stronger. Not only had I let him down by crossing the line and nearly sleeping with Amber, but I let him down again by not being there for her during the time she needed me most.

  “I also wanted to talk about that,” she says tentatively. I can sense her start to tense up with what she’s preparing to say. “I... I just want to know why you left after he died? Was it because of what we almost did?”

  It's a heavy shift in the conversation, but a necessary one. Out of everyone in my life, Amber deserves answers. Swallowing hard, I say, "Honestly, I was a coward. I was scared that we crossed the line Rhett set for us. It felt disrespectful, you know? We weren't supposed to ever go that far and thank god we didn't go all the way because I'm not sure how I would've reacted to that."

  She nods solemnly. “I get it. For a long time, I wondered if he would be mad at me.”

  “I don’t think he could ever be mad at you, Amber. You were his favorite person in the world. You could kill a man and he’d still be right there, supporting you to the bitter end. He loved you more than anything in the world, so please don’t think you disappointed him or upset him in any way.”

  She blinks a few times, trying to fight back tears. “What about you, though? You were practically his brother. It sounds like you ran away because you were scared of the same thing I was, but you must have known he felt the same for you as he did for me.”

  “No,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s different. You were infallible. If he were around and he found out what we did, he’d kick my ass. He’d never speak to me again.”

  Amber pokes at the plate of rice between us. "I disagree. Sure, he'd be mad, but he'd get over it. As hotheaded as he could be, he liked balance. He always returned to equilibrium. You guys would fight it out, I'd yell at him for trying to control who I was romantic with, and then after some time, we'd all makeup and move on with our lives."

  The way she says it, I long for that kind of future. A future where Rhett is still around, and instead of being pissed that we broke his trust, he’s forgiven us and we’re more like family than we were in the past. But it’s a dream. It’ll never happen. Instead, we’re still picking up the pieces of his death, still working through the hole he left in our hearts.

  “I suppose you’re right,” I mumble. “We managed to get ourselves into quite the mess.”

  “Do you regret any part of it?”

  Staring into those brown eyes, I feel my breath grow slower. I want to say yes, because I know if I do, it'll put to bed any lingering questions she might have about us. We could go back to just being friends and chosen family. It could be like the old days before our feelings got complicated and everything got mixed up. But is that really what I want?"

  “No.” The word comes out without me thinking. “I don’t regret it.”

  Amber nods, and for a moment, I think I see a smile appear on her face. That’s the answer she was hoping to get, I can tell.

  After dinner, I tip the waitress a few bills and walk Amber back out to the car. The driver is waiting for us, and he starts the car up when we approach. Amber stops and turns to look at me.

  “Thank you for dinner tonight, Logan. I was scared to come because I wasn’t sure where this thing would lead, but I’m really happy I didn’t back out.”

  “I am too.”

  I’m overcome with spontaneity, and I don’t want to take Amber home just yet. “Let’s go get dessert,” I say.

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Anything you want.”

  Amber thinks for a moment before saying, “Let’s do funnel cake. Do you remember the guy..?”

  "...That works the truck near the park? Of course, I do," I say, finishing her thought for her. "You got it."

  Rather than instructing the driver to take us back to Amber’s place, I tell him to head to the local park about fifteen minutes away. He nods and turns the car around, changing directions without a word. Something about this reminds me of the old times where we’d all just do something for the hell of it. There were no consequences or repercussions. It’s not exactly the same because I still have to pick Dustin up in the morning, but for just a moment, I feel like I’m in my early twenties again, doing something simply because it felt right.

  The funnel cake is as delicious as it was when we were teenagers. Amber and I split a plate, tearing off chunks and chowing down like a couple of kids. It’s probably a funny sight, the two of us all dressed up and making a mess of ourselves, but tonight, I couldn’t care less about public opinions. I only want to share this moment with Amber, being reckless and spontaneous.

  As we walk, we end up passing a man playing guitar for a small crowd of people. Amber stops and reaches into her purse, pulling a few dollars out to place in his guitar case. He thanks her, and then continues playing. Suddenly, he switches to a new song, and her eyes light up.

  “I love this song,” she says to me
. She has a toothy smile that shines in the moonlight.

  “Oh yeah? May I have this dance, then?” I extend my hand to her, and she takes it, stepping close. It feels silly to dance in public like this, but with her, it only makes sense.

  We move to the beat together, stepping and spinning and twirling. The crowd next to us claps and cheer us on, and I can tell by the brightness of Amber’s face that she loves every second of this. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t as well. When the song concludes, I pull her close, flush against my chest.

  I can feel her shallow breathing, the way her stomach expands and contracts against mine and her cheeks are slightly pink from all the dancing. She looks up at me with parted lips, like she’s stunned by how close we are.

  Without thinking, I dip my head low and press my lips to her. She tastes sweet, from the powdered sugar on her tongue, and I close my eyes to savor this experience. It’s a show of reckless abandon, of acting without considering the implications, but I don’t care. Evidently, neither does Amber.

  She holds me close, working her lips against mine with a kind of passion I hadn’t expected from her. Her enthusiasm only makes me return the favor, and my hands slip around her waist, making sure she doesn’t have any room to escape.

  We only part to catch our breaths. When our eyes meet again, Amber has a smile on her face. She starts to say something just as her phone rings. She looks at the number, and then excuses herself, stepping away from me.

  “Hey, what’s up?” she asks. After a moment of silence, she says, “Slow down, slow down. What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

  There’s an edge to her voice. Something’s wrong, I can feel it. I stand beside Amber, trying, straining to pick up any words from the person on the other end of the phone. Finally, Amber nods and says,

  “I’m on my way right now.” She hangs up and turns to me. “We need to go. Right now.” I could tell that Amber was worried.

  Whatever was going on was important. It was serious.

  "Whatever you need," I told her, nodding my head as we went back to the car.

  Chapter 9: Amber

  I wasn't sure exactly what was going on with Rosie she was quite upset though. My heart was racing when I opened my mouth.

  “Rosie's in trouble. I need to get to fifty-five Grove Rd. Quickly!” I got the words but sucked in my breath.

  “You heard her.” Logan's tone of voice was a little rough. I felt the defensive side take over.

  The driver nodded his head and I felt the car speed up. We couldn't be that far from where Rosie was.

  Looking at Logan out of the corner of my eye I watched his jaw clenching. Just knowing that I was upset got him upset. He didn't even know what was going on yet.

  The car stopped outside the white apartment that Rosie had described. The second floor I believe she said.

  I got out of the car before it completely stopped.

  “Wait!” Logan bellowed.

  Even though I knew he was only trying to make sure I didn't get into trouble, there was no time for waiting.

  Rosie needed me and she needed me now.

  I raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Logan hot on my heels. He hadn't even asked me what was wrong. For that I was thankful. I didn't know if I could even explain what was going on.

  Rosie had been talking so fast. She'd been crying so much.

  I tried the door. It was locked.

  Logan saw my plea for help and he kicked the door in as soon as I moved away from it.

  “Rosie, where are you?” I cried out to her, my voice shaking.

  “In here! In the bathroom!” Rosie cried out, unlocking the door and I went to it, opening it as fast as I could.

  Her cheeks were soaking wet, and I saw something that looked like swelling on the side of her face.

  “What happened?” I asked her softly, kneeling down.

  “When Peter brought me back to his place, he got mad when I didn't want to sleep with him. H-he got mad and hit me.” Rosie explained softly through her tears, wiping away the fresh ones.

  I had seen where he had gotten her. Before I could say another word things were spiraling out of control.

  I helped Rosie out of the bathroom, putting my arms around her like I was shielding her. Letting her know that I wasn't going to let anything else happen to her tonight. That Logan wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

  We were here and we were taking her home. She wasn't going to see him ever again. I wasn't going to allow him to hurt her again.

  Logan was already pushing Peter around the apartment. Peter trying to stand his ground but he was no match. No match for Logan's masculine size.

  “Hey! Okay!” I shout, continuing to watch Logan push Peter against the wall. He wasn't letting up.

  Getting in the middle of them, looking into Logan's eyes. I see the rage deep inside of them. His eyes almost like balls of flames. I can only imagine the rage deep inside him.

  “I just want to go home. That's all I want. I want to go home.” Rosie continues to say in a soft whisper.

  I can't blame her. I don't know how long she had locked herself in the bathroom for before she called me. The start of the night was so exciting while the end of the night is hell for her.

  I haven't seen Logan this mad in a long time. I can't remember a time that he looked as if he could kill someone. Here he was now though, the only way that I can calm him down is to let go of Rosie and squirm between them more.

  "Look, man, I don't even know you guys!" Peter shouts they are both much taller than I am. Much stronger than I am.

  “You're an asshole! Scum! Putting your hands on a woman. Any woman!” Logan shouts back at him.

  Logan's voice even makes me jump, hearing how deep and angry he is. The situation is going to escalate if I don't do something right now.

  Taking the chance and letting go of Rosie. I was quick, just not quick enough. Out of the corner of my eye, Logan has swung on Peter twice. Got him twice in the face.

  Just as he goes to give him another good hit I am able to get between Peter and him. Closing my eyes, waiting for the impact, in my mind, there's no way that Logan can keep his fist from coming.

  Waiting for it, there was no impact. Opening my eyes I see that Logan has taken a step back. He is the one over Rosie now who’s begging to go home. Begging for the night to be over for her.

  “You ever touch her again I swear to fucking god I will come back here and kill you!” Logan's tongue is sharp; I see the look in his eyes. If I wasn't here he would kill him. There was no doubt in my mind.

  Peter doesn't say anything. He stays pressed up against the wall that Logan has given him no option but to do.

  “We need to go.” I clear my throat, my heart still racing.

  Rosie is the victim here, she is safe, but I don't think there will be any healing her anytime soon.

  Logan is more protective than what I give him credit for. He's like a knight in shining armor that is willing to do right even after all he's done wrong.

  I look at Rosie as she watches both men and I see where Peter had hit her.

  She's going to have a bruise but the bruise will fade. It's what's planted in her mind that won't go away soon.

  She looks weak, fragile. Nothing like I've ever seen before. Looking into her eyes they are red. I can't imagine what she has gone through before she picked up the phone to call me. Before I had known anything was wrong.

  I want to speak but now is not the time.

  "I want to go home," Rosie whispers as I watch another tear slide down her face.

  She's right; we've been here too long. She's been here too long.

  "Logan," I whisper his name, not scared. Just determined that the night should be over.

  Logan nods his head but keeps his eyes on Peter's. They never stray to look at me, to look at Rosie.

  Chapter 10: Logan

  The second that the words come out of Rosie's mouth that Peter had hit her. I lost it. I walk out
and see that Peter is not scared. Not at first. He doesn't realize just how much damage I can do to him.

  Thinking of Dustin and knowing if he ever puts his hands on a woman I will do the same thing to him. I will raise him to be the best boy that he can be. Later in life to be the best man that he can be.

  Looking at this man, staring at him now. Feeling the urge to hit him again and again I take in how Rosie felt. How she reaches out for help.

  Face to face with the man who likes to put his hands on women because they won't do as he says.

  “If you ever come around Rosie again, I will have Logan beat you until you're not breathing.” Amber's voice calm but strong.

  Peter looks at her as if he wants to say something to her but he keeps his mouth closed. Maybe because deep down he has some smarts about him, knowing I'm right here and won't let any harm come to either of them.

  I watch as Amber steps away, getting out from the middle of Peter and me. Making sure Amber and Rosie are out of the way I slam my fist against his jaw one more time before stepping back.

  Peter groans and slowly slides to the floor, looking up at me. He knows he's no match for me and I want him to get up.

  "Logan," Amber whispers, putting her hand on my forearm gently.

  She's right, the night must end but Peter deserves more than what I gave him.

  I watch as Amber leads Rosie out the door that I've kicked in. I don't care about the damage. Amber looks over her shoulder watching me stare at him.

  "Logan," Amber says a little stronger this time.

  Without saying a word to her I walk out of the apartment and help her downstairs with Rosie who is weak and fragile. She's shaking, which makes me want to go back upstairs and beat Peter until I'm convinced that he's had enough.

  There can never be a good enough reason for a man to hit a woman. I don't understand what this world is coming to when men think it’s ever okay.

  “I don't know what I was thinking.” Rosie sighs, putting her head on Amber's shoulder.

  Amber comforts her with shushing noises. I watch out of the corner of my eye and see that Amber and Rosie are connected. The way Amber takes care of her, the way she brushes her hair back, the way that she holds her.